Warming Ourselves by the Enemy’s Fire
Do not become lost in the crowd; keep fixated on the Lord. Stay by His side. Peter’s mistake, I believe, was that he left the side of the Savior and warmed himself in the camp of the ones who were out to destroy Him and all those connected to Him. We warm ourselves by the fires of greed, fame, power, judgment, lust, gossip, worthlessness, anger, and envy and then cry out, “Where are You, Jesus? He never left our side; we left His side to warm ourselves with other things than His love. If you want to see miracles happen, healing take place, and if you want direction in your lives, whatever it takes, STAY BY HIS SIDE, not at a distance. I now try to be like the other disciples and to follow Him even unto the cross. I want to be the one who will go to the ends of the earth with Jesus.
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So, the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves.
Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself…. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So, they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. John 18: 15 -18; 25 – 27
As a leader, minister, Rev, evangelist, and pastor I often hear different people ask, “Why does it seem that my life is going nowhere?” When I ask for clarity, they share that it seems like their spiritual lives are stagnate and stale. And as we dive deeper into the discussion, it often becomes revealed that they are not near the Lord. They share that they were following the Lord and somehow noticed one day He was not anywhere to be found.
What a sad discovery to come upon; especially when it is YOU who realizes this. Do not lose heart, dear friends, you are not the only ones this happens to many people; even those who were walking closely with the Lord. In this passage, we see two disciples: Peter and the other disciple (many scholars believe this to be John the Beloved; the one whom Jesus gave charge over His mother to at the crucifixion.) coming to be with Jesus during His last night on earth before His resurrection. John follows Jesus into the courtyard and Peter decided to warm himself by the fires of those who have just turned their backs on Jesus. These people followed the ways of earthly rulers and leaders because they did not see Jesus for who He is. Both Peter and John did see this, and John never wanted to leave the side of Christ. Peter decided to warm himself at the enemy’s fire.
While there, Peter is confronted by those around him that he (Peter) was with Jesus. It is not fair for me to say that Peter thought this or that at that time, so I will not pretend to know. However, what I do know is that just hours before, Peter pledged to not only live for Jesus but was willing to die for Him. Jesus, knowing all things, told Peter that he would deny even knowing Him. Peter, being the hard-headed person he was, argued with Jesus that it would never happen! As the story shares, it came to pass. In Luke’s passage (Luke 22:31 – 32), Jesus even shares how He prayed for Peter and testified that he (Peter) would be restored to fellowship with Him.
Mark 14:54: Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself by the fire. NIV
Mark 14:66-68. While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came down and saw him warming himself there. She looked at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.… Peter’s mistake, I believe, was that he left the side of the Savior and warmed himself in the camp of the ones who were out to destroy Him and all those connected to Him. That same experience is happening today. Some follow Jesus even into the courtyards and the possibility of facing the same fate as Him and there are those (even “Christians”) who will be content separating themselves from Him to be warmed by the worldly fires. And like Peter, will deny even knowing Jesus. We warm ourselves by the fires of greed, fame, power, judgment, lust, gossip, worthlessness, anger, and envy and then cry out, “Where are You, Jesus? Why did You leave me?” He never left our side; we left His side to warm ourselves with other things than His love.
Jesus, unlike ourselves, can be in the world and not of it (meaning that He can be around those people who influence us to stray from God’s side and stand firm.)
We can spend time by the enemy’s fire; warming ourselves with its light only to find that we were colder and more bitter than when we were with Jesus. I now try to be like the other disciple and to follow Him even unto the cross.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18, “Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light the best friend with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: “I’ll live in them, move into them; I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people. So, leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good,” says God. I want you all for myself. I’ll be a Father to you; you’ll be sons and daughters to me.” The Word of the Master, God.” (MSG)
Do you find yourself suddenly apart from the Lord? Wonder where you lost sight of Him? Are you warming yourselves by the fires of your soul’s enemy? Do not become lost in the crowd; keep fixated on the Lord. Stay by His side. Grab hold of Him if you need to. Whatever it takes, STAY BY HIS SIDE if you want to see miracles happen, healing take place, and if you want direction in your lives.
We cannot blind ourselves though; you can easily still have moments of what I call “Peter Syndrome”, meaning that you might try to warm yourself with the enemy’s fire. Trying to rekindle an old flame while married, this will only keep your infidelity warm temporarily, traveling down shady lane, where drugs or alcohol are surely to be found, the casinos have gone from casual visiting to your living quarters, lying, stealing, gossiping, backbiting, things a person find themselves doing because they have distanced themselves from staying close to Jesus. I hope that whoever is reading this inspirational reading never develops a relapse of it; some of us already know what would happen.
If you’re needing to know God’s direction right now, don’t focus so much on figuring out The Plan. Focus on staying close to the man, to Jesus, whose plan it is. Living in God’s Will isn’t supposed to be this stressful spiritual mystery game. Relax and do the things that get you really close to the person, or in the words of the Bible Stay close to the King … wherever He goes!
There are eight words in 2 Chronicles 23:7 that I’ve typed out and posted on my computer desk. These eight words remind me of the secret of knowing and doing what God has planned in any given situation. In this chapter, a coalition of military and spiritual leaders is working to put the rightful king on the throne in Judah – even though he’s only a boy. The temple staff, the Levites, are given a straightforward assignment, and here are those eight words: Stay close to the king wherever He goes. That’s our assignment, too. And when we fulfill this assignment, we’ll be led naturally and supernaturally – into the next steps we’re supposed to take knowing God’s Will for our lives. It’s not your cleverness in figuring it out; It’s Your Closeness to the God Whose Will You’re Looking For! That’s the Focus of John 10, which describes us as sheep following our Shepherd. Jesus said, My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me; (John 10:27) NIV. See, it’s about being where you can hear His voice – not figuring out some spiritual jigsaw puzzle called The Will of God.
You see the Bible list many scriptures about fire, but when you start keeping yourself warm by other fires, that’s not of God, we have a problem. From literal the fire of God’s wrath and destruction, to the symbolic imagery of vision, baptism, and judgment, fire is one of the most powerful themes in the Bible. These Bible Verses include the many ways fire was represented in the biblical text.
Exodus 19:18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
2 Thessalonians 1:7. And give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
Revelation 1:14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
Exodus 24:17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
Luke 3:16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Numbers 11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them, his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
Mark 14:54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
Luke 22:56. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him. and said, “This man was with him.”
Father, there is nothing more warming than to be by Your side. Please take our hand when we want to warm ourselves with anything else that is not Your Love. I want to follow You like John and when I stray from Your side, let me have the heart of Peter and weep bitterly for ever leaving your side. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.journeyintotheword.com
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